Even the weekly pocket money is catching up with the times. If until a few years ago the little ones at home received one or two bills that they could administer and spend during the week, today the pocket money is credited directly to the rechargeable prepaid card. These financial services, in fact, allow the boy or girl to be able to make purchases in physical stores as well as online, while parents can always monitor the situation and the expenses made by their "little ones".
Not all smart credit cards, however, can be used by minors. On the contrary: those that provide for the header of a minor can be counted on the fingers of one hand and not everyone is aware of this possibility. And to say that prepaid cards for minors guarantee advantages for both children and parents. Some of them we have already listed, but there are many others: they are convenient and easy to use, they expose the kids to limited risks but, at the same time, they allow them to learn how to manage money.
How to choose a prepaid card for minors
Choosing the best prepaid card for minors for their children is not a simple task. While there aren't many of them, they have features, costs and functionality that can differ greatly from one another. For this reason, it's worthwhile to properly evaluate what they offer, what the costs are and the limits of use. Only in this way will it be possible to choose the prepaid card for minors that best suits your family needs.
For example, you will have to check what are the limits of recharge, those of payment and those of withdrawal. Evaluate the cost of issuing the card and the fees for withdrawing money from ATMs. Moreover, it will be necessary to see if the card can be used abroad and with what costs.
Prepaid cards advantages for minors
What should lead a parent to give a prepaid card to his child? The reasons, as mentioned, are many. First of all, it's a real card that can be used in physical stores as well as for online purchases. In addition, it can be used to withdraw money from ATMs all over the world, so that you do not run the risk of running out of cash during a trip abroad.
Unlike credit cards, however, the risks associated with prepaid cards are much lower: there is no risk that a thief manages to drain the current account or charge us thousands and thousands of euros of expenses that we have never done. In addition, since they are smart cards, they can be managed from the smartphone or the web: both the child and the parents will be able to monitor the balance, view the list of the last movements and recharge on the fly thanks to another credit card.
Hype, features and costs
Created within SELLALAB and linked to the Piedmontese bank, the Hype card can be requested from 12 years of age and up (provided that the request is made and authorized by a parent, who must send their documents and make a video as "counter proof"). Hype offers an Italian IBAN that allows you to receive international wire transfers, credit "salaries" and debit bills or other recurring payments.
The Hype card is managed directly from the app, available for both Android and iPhone platforms. From the mobile platform you can check your balance, your latest movements and manage your savings thanks to the Hype section. By clicking on "Card", instead, you can view the digital version of the actual card and manage it.
The issuance of the Hype card is free, as are most of the features. However, there are fees to pay in case of withdrawals or payments in currency, reloading from another credit card or cash and for bill payments. In addition to the free current account, Hype also offers two paid profiles: Hype Plus at 1 euro per month and Hype Premium at 9.90 euro per month.
Yap, features and costs
Specially designed for children, Yap can be requested from 12 years of age (also in this case with the support and consent of parents) but has a small-big difference compared to Hype: it does not provide for the free issuance of a debit card. The Yap card is primarily a virtual card, which can be paired with your Google Pay or Apple Pay account to pay directly with your smartphone. If you want, however, you can also request the physical card (Visa circuit) with which to pay in physical stores or withdraw cash from ATMs around the world.
In addition to the costs for the issuance of the physical card, Yap provides for the payment of some commissions to recharge cash and withdrawal in foreign currency. The management of the account and the Yap card takes place, as you can imagine, directly from the app: from the smartphone you can check the balance and the latest movements, manage the card and all the other functions.
IoStudio PosteyPay, features and costs
In this case, parents have nothing to do with it. As the name suggests, in fact, IoStudio PostePay is the student version of the famous Poste Italiane prepaid card. Studied and created in collaboration with MIUR, IoStudio PostePay is also valid as a "Student Card" and is given to all Italian secondary school students. It does not have to be requested, but it must be activated following the instructions explained in the accompanying letter.
In fact, IoStudio offers all the features of a normal PostePay: it can be recharged with cash at a post office counter and allows you to make payments at all merchants that accept Visa cards. Obviously, it can also be used for online payments and to withdraw cash from Bancomat and Postamat. In addition, the IoStudio card allows you to access the offers of merchants affiliated with the Ministry of Education.